House tours and lifestyle

Tag: Photography

For the first home tour of the year, we’re heading to Switzerland to a recently remodelled 17th century Alpine retreat – the Andermatt Chalet. Andermatt is high up in the mountains, at a 1500m elevation, and surrounded by mountains around 3000m high.

The place not only has a neutral palette, but also a neutral blend of old and new – with the interior designed by Jonathan Tuckey, a firm once described as ‘[able to mix] old and new to make defiantly contemporary architecture‘.

Seeing these photos you might be forgiven for thinking that they are from a high-end luxury spa or hotel. Think again. This is the work of Claesson Koivisto Rune architects, built in the top floor of a historic (1800s) Stockholm building. You can see a video of the space here. I like how it’s decorated, quite simply, but in a contemporary style. This gives the architectural features some space to show off.

This week has been busy, and all the people I’ve been talking to recently have the same impression. Has the good weather inspired a social zeal in my city? Or is this a universal effect of Summer coming? I’ve always been quite introverted though, so meeting a lot of people in quick succession has left me exhausted this Monday morning. A friend sent me this music video to help decompress, and it’s soothing. This week isn’t going to be any quieter, so maybe it’s best I ask for a day off work?

Anyway, this is the reason I chose this apartment from Nooks, because I feel like it’s a very social space. The space that connects the kitchen to the living room was actually opened up, and then shelves were put in between the supporting pillars. It does look stylish, but the reason the owner did this was to be more social and connect the rooms together more for when he had guests over. Max, the owner, also said:

“In the vast majority of home decorating, we focused on the TV, but here in the living room, I wanted instead to the social would be central. The same applies to the dinner table, I chose a round table in order to be able to keep up more with each other. ”

From the entrance, this place looks like a typical Victorian house. There’s little you can see from the front, and the ubiquitous London Plane tree (the big one) outside doesn’t point to anything out of the ordinary – houses such as this being a relatively common but well-coveted staple in Britain.

However, once you go in through the hallway and past the living room you’re greeted by something quite unexpected. A burst of light and open planned space that meets the garden. Click on the images below for a larger size.

This is what makes this house special. Staying on the lower levels, and going back towards the front of the house you’re met by something more traditional.

You’re then thrust back into the new world, with a trendy study that’s part of the new conversion. This looks like such a perfect spot for concentration, or writing a book. The decoration is fairly minimal and the palette is limited, but there’s also a view of the trees which must be calming.

You’ll also notice that there’s some light coming from the back, which is a nice touch.

The bedrooms are also all lovely, with some nice accents to boot. They’ve all made good use of space, and the mirrors, white walls and bright colours, all liven up the rooms.

The real showstopper in this building though, is what’s at the top of the tower conversion. A magical bathroom (below) with a completely glass roof. I don’t use the word magical with any exaggeration. This bathroom was the cherry on top that made the house received a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Award in 2008. An article in Grand Designs described the bathroom:

Upstairs the bathroom is more than just a room in which to groom. A small-scale bench in the shower room means you can sit while you shower, and on a clear night you can watch the moon traverse the sky through the glazed roof, from the comfort of a hammock.

New-builds always run the risk of being sterile, but this house is the opposite. It’s a place for late-night stargazing and leisurely late-afternoon lunches, with generous amounts of natural light and windows strategically placed to frame the natural surroundings

In the magazine Homebuilding & Renovating, more praise was given:

If there were a prize for best bathroom, [this] home in Hackney would easily win it. It’s rare that one finds a bathroom that multitasks, but Anne Katrine’s not only combines a magnificently stylish bathing area, but also has a space for exercising – complete with dumbbells – and hooks from which she can string a hammock to gaze up at the ever-changing sky through the room’s glazed roof

I love love love the wallpaper in this place. The rest of the apartment is quite starkly white, and the statement the kitchen makes shows that it pays off to take a little risk now and then. You can find more like it at Stadshem.

Meanwhile in my world, it’s finally becoming sunny across Northern Europe now, and I can see people almost smiling in the streets. People playing, children running about and playing, strawberries on sale in the shops. This time of year is definitely a time for optimism.

Cute puppies abound.

I love how all the kitchen fittings are so well fit in. Very traditional. Of course back then, you probably wouldn’t have got a new kitchen every 10 years.

I want that vase! And that closet space …

These hooks are such a neat idea.

Once again I’m posting the whole layout. It’s in Swedish but should be relatively self-explanatory. Sovrum is bedroom for instance, and vardagsrum is living room.

This feels so calm. I’ve had a busy weekend and it’s nice to sit back on Sunday evening and appreciate something like this. Hope you find this apartment from Nooks peaceful too!

Those funky boxes hold some Pukka tea. Not much better than your standard herbal tea at a supermarket, but the boxes look nice and they’re exactly the kind of brand I’d expect of the kind of person who’d live here.

These kind of handles are really in right now. I wonder if this is just a fad or will it last? Either way, cheap to replace.

Not a great idea to light a candle next to a window. Looks nice though.

Copyright Statement

All images are either original content from the editorial team, or from an organisation that has authorised use of their images.
This includes (as of 11th April 2017) Stadshem Fastighetsmäkleri, Fantastic Frank Fastighetsmäkleri & Fantastic Frank Immobilienagentur, Svenskt Tenn, Bolaget Fastighetsförmedling, Entrance Fastighetsmäkleri, Historiska Hem, deVOL Kitchens, Urban Spaces, Nooks, and The Modern House.